scoffed and took a healthy drink from her cup. “Come on. You’re all losers. At this rate, I’ll be too trashed to have sex with one of you guys.” Her gaze rested briefly on Reed.
He pointedly ignored her as he’d been doing all night.
Feeling unexpectedly relieved that he wasn’t interested in her subtle and not-so-subtle attempts at seduction, I grinned. “We can’t all be skanky hos.” I turned and winked at her. I must’ve moved too fast because I nearly fell off my chair.
Scooter caught my elbow to steady me.
Ronnie, who’d never taken his eyes off Cami, beamed in her direction. “You’re my kind of woman.”
Cami gave him a once-over and flashed him a thousand-watt smile. “But are you man enough for me?”
Oh, God, not Cami and Ronnie. That was a recipe for disaster. I met Reed’s gaze across the table and rolled my eyes.
Instead of sharing my disgust, he wore a strained expression. “Hey guys, I think it’s time to pack it in for the night.”
I waved my hand at him dismissively. “Come on, we’re having a good time.”
Reed looked down at Scooter’s hand holding my arm. “Jesus, woman. I’ve never seen you drink like this. You can barely sit upright in your chair.”
Feeling self-conscious, I straightened in my seat. True, I wasn’t much of a drinker. But I thought I was holding my own.
Scooter slid an arm over my shoulder. “What are you, her dad? She’s just having fun. Lay off.”
Reed tightened his grip around his plastic cup, nearly crushing it in half. Clearly, he wasn’t having a good time, and it was his birthday.
Maybe we should cut the night short…
The rebel inside me flipped off that idea. It wasn’t fair. I hadn’t felt this light and free in forever. I was tired of always being the responsible one.
Didn’t I deserve to live it up a little?
Scooter gave everyone at the table an assessing look. “Never have I ever had a Big Mac.”
Cami gasped. “No way.”
Scooter’s face reddened. “Yeah, I have wheat and dairy allergies.”
Ronnie slapped him on his back. “That’s sad, man.”
Everyone at the table knocked back their cups.
My eyes didn’t even water. The vodka went down like apple juice at this point. Feeling bad for Scooter, I said. “I can’t eat Big Macs either.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. My sister is forcing us to eat vegan.” I wrinkled my nose, thinking about the tofu sandwiches she’d made for lunch yesterday.
He chuckled. “How about I take you to the Red Dog Saloon for our first date? We’ll have steak and your sister will be none the wiser.”
Reed slammed his cup down on the table, gin sloshing across the top. If he glared any harder at Scooter, the college boy’s head would’ve exploded.
What’s up with him?
Trying to diffuse the tension, I shook off Scooter’s arm. “My turn.” I thought for a second, and then said, “Never have I ever been in love.”
Reed held my gaze, tipped his cup to me, and slowly drank.
Feeling like a butterfly pinned to a wall, I swallowed hard. A quick glance around the table revealed everyone was drinking.
My mood bottomed out. Is something wrong with me?
An entire lifetime of choices rushed through my mind. Me rejecting Josh, the cute boy with dimples who’d asked me to the eighth-grade dance. Me spurning Darren, who’d stubbornly spent most of sophomore year trying to get me to go out with him. The countless faces of boys and men who’d asked me out in the years since then. I’d never regretted my decision to avoid all things male until that moment.
Scooter leaned over. “You just haven’t met the right guy.” He reached down and rubbed my jean-clad thigh.
Instead of pulling away like I normally would, I smiled. Maybe he was right. He was kind of sexy in that clean-cut, boy-next-door way. “Do you think you’re Mr. Right?”
Scooter responded by dragging me into his lap.
I giggled, enjoying the feeling of a pair of arms around me.
Why have I been avoiding this my whole life?
The sound of Reed gritting his teeth had me jerking my head up.
What’s his deal tonight?
Next to me, Morgan swiped his dark hair out of his face and leveled the table with a serious look. “Never have I ever killed someone.”
As his words registered, I felt the blood leaving my face.
“Trust Morgan to go to the dark side,” joked Ronnie. “No one’s going to drink to that.”
Reed flashed me a quick, unfathomable look.
The kitchen spun around me. My stomach churned, and bile clawed its way up the back of